[apostate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dknightd /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lucky Dube (Captured Live or Serious Reggae Business)

Lucky Dube is definitely one of my favorites. House of Exile or Captured Live is always on the iPod.

Alpha Blondy, Black Uhuru, Steelpulse, Aswad, Big Mountain, Beres Hammond, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Junior Tucker, Maxi Priest, Burning Spear all spend time there as well.

Ant

 

[dknightd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by apostate /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lucky Dube is definitely one of my favorites. House of Exile or Captured Live is always on the iPod. Alpha Blondy, Black Uhuru, Steelpulse, Aswad, Big Mountain, Beres Hammond, Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Junior Tucker, Maxi Priest, Burning Spear all spend time there as well. Ant

Hmm, looks like we have similar tastes in music.
I only have only one Beres Hammond - "In Control". It is good enough
music but doesn't get played much. Do you have a specific recomendation?
I've never heard of Big Mountain, Junior Tucker, or Maxi Priest. Again,
any specific recomendations?
Unfortunately I promised myself not to buy any more music this year (I already have more than I can listen to). But next year is not too far away

I didn't see third world on your list, trust me - 96 deg in the shade has more 5 star songs than anything else in my collection (I happened to see them in ebbits field in denver in 1977 - I wish I could have taped it! - so I may be biased). Everything they did before about 1980 is really good. After that they started to get more mainstream/disco and fell apart - they should have stuck to roots rock reggae, that is what they did best.

 

[debrey]

As a huge Reggae head, I strongly recommend the Rough Guide to Reggae 3rd Edition. Probably the best music reference guide I have ever seen. This book (by Barrow and Dalton) provides the history of Reggae (from pre-Ska to Ragga) with plenty of recommendations. Their taste is amazing. One of them is behind the Blood and Fire label.

In my opinion, the most important thing to have is Lee Perry's Arkology box set.

I've noticed a noticable lack of love for the 70's DJ scene. If you haven't heard this stuff, you really should. Rasta commentators talking (proto-rapping) over vintage reggae beats. I would suggest starting with:

Big Youth: Screaming Target
Dr. Alimontodo: Best Dressed Chicken in Town
(Also U-Roy: Super Boss, but that is hard to find)

For Bob Marley, make sure you get the Deluxe edition of Catch a Fire. This will let you get the original Jamacian version, rather than the whitened version released in '73. The original Jamican version is, I think, as good as his work with Lee Perry (available on JAD).

I also second Toots and the Maytals. Not just Funky Kingston/Alone in the Dark, but also the recent box set of their original Jamacian CD's.

 

[apostate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dknightd /img/forum/go_quote.gif I only have only one Beres Hammond - "In Control". It is good enough music but doesn't get played much. Do you have a specific recomendation? I've never heard of Big Mountain, Junior Tucker, or Maxi Priest. Again, any specific recomendations?

Maxi Priest is kind of pop reggae if there is such a thing (not to a UB40 extent though). My favorite album of his is Fe Real, which never seemed that popular, but Best of Me is a good choice as well since Housecall with Shabba Ranks and Wild World were probably the most widely popular songs he's done (though I've actually heard his Message In A Bottle remake on the radio a couple of times from the album Man With The Fun).

Big Mountain got popular in the 90s with a remake of Baby I Love Your Way from the Reality Bites soundtrack which is also on their Unity album. Personally I like the album before that a lot more which was called Wake Up. It's also lighter fare.

I've only been able to get one album by Junior Tucker, Love Of A Lifetime. I managed to see him open for Maxi Priest and Steelpulse in Breckenridge CO. He was awesome live but the album isn't as good, not bad but doesn't "feel" as much like reggae. More like R&B with an island twist, brings back fond memories though so it gets some play.

My favorite Beres Hammond album at present is Full Attention. Sweetness was pretty good as well. For some reason I don't play Beres a lot either. I like his music but there's something about it that isn't as enveloping as other reggae I have. He ends up in the selection more if I'm listening to it while doing something else, along with Maxi, Jimmy Cliff, etc., as opposed to really focusing on it when I tend to listen to more Lucky, Black Uhuru, Tosh, Marley, etc....

I'll have to check out Third World, reggae is one genre I never seem to tire of. There's enough variety, from light to heavy, for almost any mood and a definite life to the music.

Ant